Ted. Napoleon famously said, “If the world were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.”
Officially founded nearly 3,000 years ago as Byzantium, artifacts have been found in the area dating back 8,000 years. The first bridge across the Bosporus was built there by the Persians under Darius the Great in 512 BCE!
In 324 CE (AD) the city was renamed Nova Roma by Emperor Constantine but was soon called Constantinople in his honor. For hundreds of years, though, the locals simply said they were going istanbul, a medieval Greek expression meaning “to the city.” Istanbul did not become the official name till the 1930’s.
When Rome lay in ruins in the 5th century, Constantinople blossomed and became one of the richest cities in the world.
After spending a few days there, I have to say that I admire what the city represents, more than the city itself. Istanbul was pivotal in the development of Western civilization. It was the terminus of a "Silk Road" and the Orient Express.
Constantinople had a huge role in the advancement of early Christianity. In the 6th century, the Hagia Sophia was the state church of the Roman Empire. A Christian capital, it was nonetheless sacked by "Christian" crusaders in 1204. The Ottoman Empire (and Islam) took a great leap forward after capturing the city in 1453.
Of course, the twentieth century brought the demise of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of Kemal Attatürk, a new Western alphabet, "Turkification" and the ensuing ethnic cleansing.
With a population exceeding 15 million, it is the largest city in Europe and 15th largest in the world. Istanbul is a swirl of sounds and smells, teeming with people from a hundred countries. If you take a walk, you’ll hear 20 languages in 20 minutes. It typically gets 15 million visitors per year, trailing only London and Paris. I am sure there are lots of quiet neighborhoods and peaceful walks but we never found them.
I really enjoyed the Archaeological Museum and my favorite exhibit was the artifacts from nearby Troy. As the site was excavated, it turned out there were actually 10 cities built on the same site. The earliest was built around 3000 BCE. The Troy that Homer wrote about in the Iliad was actually Troy VI, dating from around 1500 BCE. The last city, dubbed Troy X was built around 1300 CE. The exhibit was huge and devoted a lot of space to the processes used by modern archeologists - great for kids.
Am I glad we went to Istanbul? Absolutely! Will I return? Maybe not. Here are a couple of snapshots.
 |
| View of Blue Mosque from our hotel rooftop terrace |
 |
| Sea of Marmara from our hotel rooftop |
 |
| Galeta Bridge across the Golden Horn |
 |
| Galeta Tower |
 |
| Simit stand (popular sesame seed rolls) |
 |
| Hagia Sophia (a church/mosque/museum and now mosque) |
No comments:
Post a Comment